Revisiting New Zealand 15 years after the final instalment of The Lord of the Rings

Next week marks 15 years since The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King hit the big screen in Australia. It went on to Oscar glory, winning a coveted golden statue in all 11 of the categories in which it was nominated, including Best Director, Best Visual Effects and the big one, Best Picture, meaning it holds the record for the highest total number of Academy Awards, along with Titanic and Ben-Hur. Basically, it’s a cracking film and if you haven’t seen it, you probably should (but make sure you see parts one and two of the trilogy first!).

But even if J.R.R Tolkien and fantasy films aren’t really your thing, the films are worth a look purely for the scenery. The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was filmed entirely in New Zealand, and the Land of the Long White Cloud proved to be the perfect stand-in for Middle-earth. Ever since the first movie debuted in 2001, people have been flocking to New Zealand to see if it could possibly be as magnificent as it appears on screen (spoiler alert: it is).

With the anniversary looming, we’ve put together a collection of spectacular Lord of the Rings filming locations that are still drawing in fans all these years later. For your viewing pleasure, here are six real-life places in New Zealand, and their reel-life counterparts…

1. Real life: Matamata / Reel life: The Shire

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”

So wrote J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit, and it’s a vision director Peter Jackson and his team recreated to perfection at a location near the Waikato town of Matamata on New Zealand’s North Island. The lush dairy farming landscape in this part of the country was the perfect double for the peaceful Shire region of Middle-earth and the village of Hobbiton. Built originally for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and then dismantled, Hobbiton was rebuilt for The Hobbit trilogy, and is now a permanent attraction that draws huge amounts of fans who come to check out Bilbo’s house and have a pint in The Green Dragon pub.

2. Real life: Mount Sunday / Reel life: Edoras

“Arise! Arise, Riders of Theoden!”

In the centre of the South Island, west of Christchurch, lies the incredible Rangitata River valley. A rocky outcrop rises above the plain that was formed by ancient glaciers – this is Mount Sunday, another key filming location in the LOTR trilogy. It was the set for Edoras, the main city in the kingdom of Rohan (home to the Rohan people, a.k.a the Rohirrim or the “Horse-lords”, led by King Theoden). The epic set took nine months to build, but not a skerrick remains. It doesn’t really matter – whether you’re a fan of the films or simply a fan of magnificent scenery, you’ll still stare in wonder. If you’re doing a self-drive tour you can park your vehicle on Hakatere Potts Road – a few kilometres northwest of Mt Potts Lodge – and walk to Edoras Mount Sunday.

Read more: An ideal itinerary for New Zealand’s South Island

3. Real life: Tongariro National Park / Reel life: Mordor

“One does not simply walk into Mordor.”

If you haven’t seen the LOTR movies, the plot is basically this – a group of nine have to journey to a big scary volcano (encountering many adventures along the way) in order to destroy a magic ring in its fires. The volcano is Mount Doom, and it sits in the forbidding land of Mordor. Mount Ngauruhoe, a volcano on the North Island, was the obvious choice to “star” as Mount Doom. It’s just one of three active volcanoes in Tongariro National Park, which is New Zealand’s oldest national park and a dual World Heritage area.

4. Real life: Mackenzie Country / Reel life: Pelennor Fields

“Ride now, ride now, ride, ride for ruin and the world’s ending!”

McKenzie Country, on the South Island, is a region of wide open spaces and grassy fields stretching to the foothills of majestic mountains. It’s no wonder, therefore, that location scouts chose it as the setting for the most epic battle in the entire trilogy, The Battle of the Pelennor Fields. The actual site is located on private land – the Ben Ohau Station – but you can arrange a tour in the nearby town of Twizel, not far from Lake Pukaki. Many other scenes in The Lord of the Rings trilogy were also filmed here, including The Fall of Osgiliath and The Sacrifice of Faramir, The Ride of the Rohirrim, The Nazgûl and his Prey and The Victory of Minas Tirith. Which will mean nothing at all if you’re not a fan of the movies, but is sure to excite fans!

5. Real life: Mount Olympus / Reel life: Dimrill Dale

“You shall not pass!”

If you’ve seen the films, you might remember a scene in The Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo and his friends hid from Saruman’s black crows. It took place at a location called Dimrill Dale which, in real life, is located on Mount Olympus in Kahunrangi National Park on the South Island. This is also the spot where the Fellowship – minus Gandalf – stopped to grieve after the great wizard fell, following a battle with the Balrog at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Take note: if you want to see this spot you’ll need to get there by helicopter, but you’ll get a brilliant view of not only Kahurangi, but also the region’s two other national parks – Abel Tasman and Nelson Lakes.

6. Real life: Putangirua Pinnacles / Reel life: The Paths of the Dead

“None who venture there ever return.”

Do you remember the amazing scenes in The Return of the King when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were so desperate to increase the numbers of the army fighting Sauron and the bad guys, that they enlisted the help of ghosts? To reach them they – appropriately – took the Paths of the Dead, a haunted passage under the White Mountains. In real life this part of the world is just as eerie – and completely intriguing. A brilliant example of badlands erosion, the Putangirua Pinnacles are located on the North Island.

Read more: North or South: the debate over New Zealand’s best island rages on